Guest Blog: NFL Week 6
(Hey everyone, we have a new guest blogger, so please give a nice Red Card welcome to Andrew Lallman. He is covering week 6 in the NFL.)
By: Andrew Lallman
Sunday’s are for watching, men who are paid to lift weights on a regular basis and perform Oscar winning roles in pads- the NFL, through the access of your technological choice (tablet, mobile device, old fashion television set). But Sunday is also the day to complete unpleasant, but necessary tasks (chore, definition in any dictionary) such as visiting the grocery store with a significant other, going to church (the early service is by far the best choice), and fixing the screen door to your patio which never slides the way when you first walked through it.
Dont be this guy.
This Sunday – October 16- is that Sunday you choose not to go to your girlfriend’s church. Sure, she’ll be mad, but barter with her and watch Eva Longoria and the rest of those Desperate Housewives. The Viqueens travel to Soldier Field that night, which should be a re-occurrence of last years matchup (blowout), so make up those hours of computer-in-face, checking fantasy statistics by visiting Wisteria Lane instead of All Day AP in Urlacher’s, and an angry Bears D-Line’s, home. She’ll still love you.
Prediction: Da Bears 27, Vikings 13
Week 6 has by far the most intriguing matchups NFL fans could see all year. The Philadelphia Heagles (reference made by the media to inform you the Philadelphia Eagles are now the Dream Team, were the Dream Team, in relation to the Miami Heat, nickname Heatles, however; Heagles is appropriate here) face another good, but not proven team in and at the Washington Redskins, which might send them to 1-5 on the year. Shady McCoy shakes and bakes for a buck twenty.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Redskins 20
Shootout of the week: Dallas at New England
Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are healthy. Tommy vs. Tony. Up-and-comer vs. cut-off sweatshirt genius, and the worst pass defense in the NFL (Patriots). Yes, this will indeed have fireworks galore. With a week to rest and a week to figure out the nooks and crannies of their own pass defense, the Cowboys bring America’s favorite team to Foxboro, Massachusetts with lofty expectations. The Patriots aren’t, well, the Patriots to be frankly honest. Wes Welker has the most receiving yards ever through the first five games of an NFL season, but what once use to be the glue of the Patriots was the defense. Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi, now analysts crashing Ochocinco’s emotional Twitter parties, use to be the anchors, the gods of three Super Bowl titles. Now, the Achilles heal of the Pats is their defense. Both quarterbacks should see 400 yard games. Running backs will not be involved, unless it’s through the air. Whichever defense can accumulate the most turnovers, wins. Whichever offensive line can give up the fewest number of sacks, wins. Has anyone else noticed the most talented wide receivers in the NFL are below 6’0? Steve Smith, Wes Welker (and don’t tell me Miles Austin is 6’2).
Prediction: Cowboys 37, Patriots 34
After the hoopla about Cam Newton “coming down to Earth” after Week 3 in a Typhoon, Newton ranks SECOND in the NFL in Fantasy Points behind Aaron Rodgers. Granted, he plays catch-up every week and will continue to do so. Cam-the-man arrived before Week 1, so don’t act like you didn’t see the forthcoming of a star. Newton is completing 58.2% of his passes which isn’t a surprise for a rookie QB. But more impressive is his ability to stay in the pocket and launch a pigskin figure 60 yards accurately. Offensively, the Panthers can keep up with the best in the business and this team is a solid defensive player away from winning the NFC South for years to come. Don’t be surprised if Cam throws for 450 yards and rushes for two touchdowns against the 29th ranked pass defense at 294 yards/game in the Falcons. Look for lots of Roddy White from Matty Ice in this contest. If the Panthers can take an early lead, look for a potential downpour of Steve Smith receiving yards and a division victory.
Prediction: Panthers 31, Falcons 24
Colts at Bengals
How much talent do the Indianapolis Colts rely on? Curtis Painter’s blonde mullet or Peyton Manning’s neck therapy? Talent is a term to be used carefully in today’s sports world. How many teams have as many legal troubles as the Bengals? According to USA Today, the Cincinnati Bengals have the most arrests in the NFL since 2000 at 35. How many wins do the Bengals have since 2000? Counting this year, the Bengals have 75 wins since 2000, which is an average of 6.62 wins per year. With an average of 3.11 arrests per year, the Bengals have nearly half as many arrests per year as they do wins. Now if we calculate the number of players which would have played……. I digress. Andy Dalton should lead this team into the right direction especially on Sunday.
Prediction: Bengals 24, Colts 6 (0-6)? Come back, Peyton.
Houston at Baltimore
The Houston Johnson-less Texans travel to Baltimore to take on Ray-Ray and the fearless Ravens. Black jersey’s, pants, helmets, intimidation, and Ray Lewis are the Baltimore Ravens. Not even ‘The Situation’ can get out of this situation. If I’m Matt Schaub, I pay the refs to call as many defensive holding and personal fouls as possible. Without Andre Johnson, the Ravens will make Matt Schaub beat them, plain and simple. Expect Lewis and Co. to stack the box and make Arian Foster Jersey Shore grenade status.
Prediction: Ravens 27, Texans 13
Game of the Week: 49ers at Detroit
The surprising 5-0 Lions host the offensive-less, if you will, 49ers. The 49ers rank 7th in the NFL in points/game, yet rank 27th in offensive yards/game. Defensive and Special Teams (Punt/Kickoff Return) points are hard to come by, but this team manages to keep the offense off the field which isn’t bad. For this weekend, Megatron (Calvin Johnson) is a bad man on pace for Randy Moss’ receiving touchdown record of 23. 9 down, 14 to go with 11 remaining games. The 49ers will have to triple team Calvin and rush Matt Stafford like its 1849, covered wagons and all. More sophisticated methods of panning will need to take place in order for the 49ers offensive line to cover their, once upon a time, gold piece of a quarterback, Alex Smith, from a tenacious Suh-nami and a Lions gold rush.
Prediction: Lions 27, 49ers 13
Other matchups on Sunday:
New Orleans at Tampa Bay. Prediction: Saints 27, Bucs 17
Jaguars at Pittsburgh. Prediction: Pittsburgh 23, Jaguars 3
Cleveland at Oakland. Prediction: Cleveland 20, Oakland 17
St. Louis at Green Bay. Prediction: Green Bay 38, Rams 10
Buffalo at NY Giants. Prediction: Bills 28, Giants 20
Miami at NY Jets. Prediction: Jets 27, Dolphins 13
Teams with bye-weeks: Denver, Tennessee, Kansas City, Arizona, San Diego, Seattle.
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